Home Economics Education for Sustainable Development

With the advent of the 21st century the world has realized an urgent need to transform lifestyles and practices in order to cope with the adverse effects of scientific progress and rapid globalization. As a consequence the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) is being promoted to protect the environment, the society and the economy for future generations and long term well-being of the planet Earth. Education has been identified as the most effective tool to bring about a global paradigm shift in the perception of human development. A new field of education named, "Education for Sustainable Development" or ESD for short, has therefore emerged with the specific intention to promote certain global values for SD. In order to develop a shared vision and mission for ESD, the United Nations (UN) designated the period 2005-2014 as the Decade of ESD or DESD for short. As a result of these global initiatives, of which Pakistan is a signatory, certain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were formulated with specific targets to assess the impact of ESD. The onus of achieving SDGs therefore rests to a large extent on the educational sector.

Autorentext

Dr. Salma Zaidi Syed is an Associate Professor at the Government College of Home Economics Lahore, Pakistan. She is an avid environmentalist and a social worker. She has a teaching experience of over 20 years, She is a member of the International Federation of Home Economics (IFHE) and a staunch believer in the strength of home and family ties.